Rowles of Omaha Nebraska

From the Colonials of
Virginia and Maryland
back to Weaving Webs

Contact Barbara at bj_neel@hotmail dot com

Welcome to our Rowles Family

From Baltimore, Maryland to Omaha, Nebraska

This is the family of William Donaldson Rowles, and his sister Frances "Fanny" Rowles Daley Bosteader. The Rowles were pioneers in Indian Territory of Omaha, but they were well trained in the arts of survival for life on the prarie because of the American Revolution and life at that time in Baltimore, Maryland.

Our family history was written down by Aunt Fanny, Frances Rowles Daley Bosteader, and also her son John D. Daley, from the words handed down by his great-grandmother Priscilla M. Chamberlaine Donaldson who lived with his family. She may have descended from William Grafton who claimed to be the natural son of Henry, 1st Duke of Grafton as were the other Maryland Graftons. Or, as is our family tradition, she may descend from Charles, 2nd Duke of Grafton by his mistress's daughter Sybil or a 2nd wife in his old age. But she did not descend from the 3rd duke as the tombstone from his first daughter, Georgiana was found, proving her birthdate. So we need more research.

The Rowles Family descended from Colonials Sir Edmund Jenings/Jennings through his son Edmund Jenings, Esq. the acting Governor of Virginia, and his wife Frances Corbin, the daughter of Henry Corbin. Their son William was the father of Edmund Jenings, father of Candace Jenings who married Nehemiah Miller Rowles of Anne Arundel, MD. Candace Jenings' mother Mary Waters was the granddaughter of William Iiams and Elizabeth Plummer Elizabeth, step-granddaughter of Colonial George Yates, so she was sometimes referred to as Elizabeth Yates in some publications.

Mary Waters married Edmund Jenings, Sr. aka Jennings, who was the son of William Jenings whose paternal grandfather was Sir Edmund Jenings, and his maternal grandfather was Henry Corbin. Nehemiah and Candace Rowles were the parents of naval officer, Captain Joshua Jenings Rowles and Mary Jane Rowles whose daughter Caroline married Joshua's son William D. Rowles as a second marriage for both. Joshua's wife, Harriet Donaldson was the daughter of William Donaldson son of Sgt. John Donaldson brother of Lady Jane Donaldson Fairfax who was the second wife of the 8th Baron Fairfax, Rev. Lord Brian Fairfax of Mt. Eagle.

John Donaldson and his sister Lady Jane were the children of James Donaldson and Ann Bailey, daughter of Stephen Bailey and Elizabeth Harrison. Sgt. John Donaldson married Jane Wigginton, daughter of Henry Wigginton and Sarah O'Neal. Harriet's mother Priscilla M. Chamberlaine was the daughter of John Chamberlaine of Virginia, and Priscilla Elizabeth Grafton.

The Rowles family of Anne Arundel and Baltimore, Maryland first came to Nebraska in 1856. My great-grandmother Bessie Rowles was born in Sarpy County in 1863 a few months before the death of her great-grandmother Priscilla M. Chamberlaine Donaldson 1772-1863. Priscilla M. Donaldson lived out the latter years of her life in the home of her granddaughter Frances Elizabeth Rowles Daley Bosteder, ancestor of Judy Richardson, and grandmother of radio and movie star, Gwen Delano aka Gwen Delaney, daughter of Frances Priscilla Daley and Henry Arthur Delaney. It was through Frances' children that Priscilla handed down our family history.
Frances' son John D. Daley, our first family historian, died in 1922. Frances' granddaughter, Genevieve, "Vieve" daughter of Lucretia Daley, wrote a family history for Aunt Fanny's niece, Bessie Rowles Newman, my great-grandmother, about 1930. Bessie said we were descended from the Indian Princess Pocahontas, but I'm still looking for proof of that. However, it is a proven fact that her cousin John Randolph of Roanoke descended from Pocahontas aka Rebecca Rolfe. We do descend from Elizabeth Rolfe a relative of John Rolfe who married Pocahontas.

Bessie Rowles married Professor James "Walter" Newman, aka Walter J. Newman, Superintendent of Schools for Sarpy Co, Nebraska. Bessie was the daughter of William Donaldson Rowles and Mary Jane Crowthers, daughter of Elizabeth Wilhelm and John Crowthers, Sr. William was an early settler of Nebreaska Territory. He was a shop-keeper, in the Calvary in wartime, and Sarpy county Sheriff, Senator and Congressman of Nebraska. In later life he married his cousin Caroline Dyson, daughter of Mary Jane Rowles, sister of Captain Joshua Jenings Rowles. That marriage didn't last long and they were soon living separate lives.

Walter and Bessie Newman were the parents of Charlotte Augusta Forristall, Charles Newman, Sybil Laura Headley and Alice Violet Newman who died in childhood. It sometimes helps to know a person's religion when trying to discover ancestry records, however, one cannot be certain.

Bessie's daughter Charlotte, Aunt "Lottie," made copies of our family history for her sister Sybil, my grandmother who gave them to me when I moved to Virginia a few months before she died in 1969. On that trip to Virginia I found the graves of Priscilla, her grandson William Rowles and son Charles, and John Donaldson Daley, grandson of Frances E. Rowles Daley. Judy Richardson generously shared her genealogy with me many years later.

My grandmother always said she was Pennsylvania Dutch from Holland. In any case, Thomas Wilhelm descended from Pennsylvania Dutch, and Mennonite, was also descended from royalty through his mother Miriam Lewis. His first wife was our ancestor, mother of Elizabeth Wilhelm, grandmother of Bessie Rowles . Her sister Ann's descendant is Donna Weiss. (Donna and I are an mt-DMA match.) Ann Rowles Dyson and her husband moved to Canada which is probably the reason Bessie and her son Charles lived there while he was sick with TB. Neither Charles Newman nor his uncle Charles Rowles ever married, and both were in the military.

The Rowles were originally Quakers "Friends." The Rowles and Donaldson families in Maryland were Methodist Episcopalians. Elizabeth Wilhelm's granddaughter Bessie Rowles Newman was a Baptist however her daughter Charlotte had Bessie's funeral in Charlotte's Methodist Church. Today our relatives are of many faiths.